Disabled by Society

Disabled by Society beast mode activated. Big things are coming - so watch this space ?? #Neurodiversity #Disabled #Disability #Law #Ableism TW: Camera flash Video description: In the video Celia Chartres-Aris (née Hensman) and Jamie Shields are at a photoshoot posing and laughing in front of a studio backdrop, there is a camera flashing around them taking pictures. Celia is a tall white female with shoulder length blonde hair, wearing makeup and has a feeding tube backpack attached to her. She is wearing three different outfits in the video; a blue suit with black heels, a white T-shirt with black flare trousers and purple socks by Parallel Lifestyle and a knee length black dress with black heels. Jamie is a white male with quaffed dark hair and a beard. He is wearing three different outfits in the video; a blue blazer with a white T-shirt and blue jeans, a smart dark green three piece suit, and a white T-shirt with jeans and purple socks. The song playing across the duration of the video is ‘Freedom’ by Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar.

This whole week has been a blur of laughter, conversations, celebrations, connections, selfies, and so much more… but it’s not over yet. Today I’m flying to Southampton to meet my fellow co-founder of Disabled by Society, Celia, aka the most influential Disabled person in the UK! Celia only flew back home from Belfast yesterday, and after 24 hours we just couldn’t be apart! Only joking! Later today, we’ll be travelling to Coventry to spend the evening in an Airbnb in preparation for a workshop we’re delivering tomorrow for the NHS. I used to hate flying, but now it makes me excited because I know that getting off that plane, there is always something magical waiting to happen. And I know it means I get to spend even more time with my bestie, doing what we love to do, helping make the uncomfortable comfortable as we educate others about ableism. Image Description: Throwback to Wednesday night at the Shaws Trust Disability Power 100. Celia and Jamie are standing in front of a purple backdrop which contained all the names of those nominated. Celia is serving style for days in a sparkly long-sleeved white top and a flowy white skirt, in her hand is her grey backup which contains her TPN. Jamie is serving suited and booted realness in a navy suit, white shirt orange patterned tie and pocket square. In this photo, they are both candidly laughing as they attempt to pose the house down. Besties, co-founders and two incredibly proud individuals.

Join us for The Unlearning Ableism Podcast Live! Join your hosts Jamie and Celia as they discuss what it means to be Disabled by Society, ableism, our exciting new business plans, Evenbreak and much more. Let's make the uncomfortable, comfortable! Image Description: The event banner is white with circular blue, purple and off-black circles, they are all different shapes. Centred is a photo of Jamie and Celia serving Hosties with the mosties realness. A blue box at the bottom contains text reading, "Unlearning Ableism with hosts Celia & Jamie. November 22nd PM 1.45 pm GMT. Sponsored by Evenbreak #WednesdayWisdom #DisabilityInclusion #DisabledBySociety #UnlearningAbleism

Join us for The Unlearning Ableism Podcast Live! Join your hosts Jamie and Celia as they discuss what it means to be Disabled by Society, ableism, our exciting new business plans, Evenbreak and much more. Let's make the uncomfortable, comfortable! Image Description: The event banner is white with circular blue, purple and off-black circles, they are all different shapes. Centred is a photo of Jamie and Celia serving Hosties with the mosties realness. A blue box at the bottom contains text reading, "Unlearning Ableism with hosts Celia & Jamie. November 22nd PM 1.45 pm GMT. Sponsored by Evenbreak #WednesdayWisdom #DisabilityInclusion #DisabledBySociety #UnlearningAbleism

Last night, Celia and Jamie attended the Shaws Trust Disability Power 100. We are so incredibly proud to share that Celia was named as the most influential Disabled person in the UK! And Jamie placed 2nd in his category for Grassroots Community Advocate! Massive congratulations to both Celia and Jamie, and everyone nominated. ?? And a massive thank you to Shaws Trust for such an incredible evening. Image Description: Disabled by Society co-founders Celia and Jamie at the Shaws Trust Disability Power 100. They are stood in front of a purple backdrop and are dressed in their best! Celia is rocking a white skirt, and sparkly white top and is carrying her grey feeding tube backpack. Jamie is slaying in a navy suit, white shirt and orange tie. The two look fabulous and are so happy to celebrate. #DisabilityPower100 #DemandTheChange

RIDI Awards 2024 Finalists ?? Creating Disability Confident Recruiters Award Organisations that are committed to being Disability Confident consider all aspects of disability inclusion. Developing the disability inclusion skills and awareness of their hiring and line managers as an essential part of their Disability Confident journey. Our 2024 finalists ? Irwin Mitchell ? Public Sector Resourcing by AMS ? Randstad Academy for Talent (RAFT), part of Randstad Sourceright. ? Disabled by Society Register for the RIDI Awards Ceremony Livestream to see the winner announced on Thursday 5th December, 1830 -1930 https://bit.ly/RIDI24LS #RIDIawards #InclusionRevolution #DisabilityInclusion #InclusiveRecruitment #AwardsCeremony Disability Confident Randstad Enterprise Jamie Shields Celia Chartres-Aris (née Hensman) Catherine Hanley (Wasilewski) Sehar Mir Natalie Collingwood Charlotte Williams CMgr CertRP

Today I’m off to Manchester. But I’m not alone; with me is my partner David, aka “the eyes,”. We are travelling ahead of the BASE Disability Confidence in Action Business Summit tomorrow, where I am a keynote speaker! I’ll be wearing my purple socks as my keynote is sponsored by the fabulous Parallel Lifestyle. Then on Wednesday, we are off to London for the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 celebrations. What a week. Excited isn’t the word! There's an obligatory airport selfie. Image Description: Jamie and David serving airport rush realness. They are both white males. Jamie has dark hair pushed up to one side, blue eyes and a short dark beard. Jamie is slaying in a light grey jacket whilst David is serving winter realness in his black fleece. David has a shaved ahead and a dark beard. He has brown eyes and an ear piercing. #MondayMotivation #Base2024 #DisabilityInclusion #Traveling

I saw this TikTok video recently and was given a stark reminder that ableism is still rampant in 2024. As an autistic employee, I find this post disgusting, abhorrent, uneducated, and wholly uninformed. This is a friendly reminder that NONE of the items listed make you broken. This list is problematic for several reasons. 1. Many autistic people, including myself don’t make eye contact. This doesn’t mean we are broken. It just makes us very uncomfortable. Personally, I concentrate better when not making eye contact because I am reacting to one stimulant (verbal) rather than two (visual and verbal). 2. Dressing inappropriately. Whilst professionalism is important, it is also an ableist concept that fails to consider that many autistic people have heightened sensory sensitivities. Itchy clothes and tight clothes can be unbearable for us. 3. Autistic people communicate differently. This doesn’t make our communication or language inappropriate. It just makes it different. 4: Camera off is a completely reasonable accommodation. The non-verbals can be difficult to navigate for autistic people. If I see myself on camera, rather than focusing on my answer, I’m wondering if I’m nodding or smiling enough, fidgeting too much, making eye contact enough… 5: It is OKAY to have a parent at an interview. Autistic people are four times more likely to have co-occurring anxiety and depressive disorders and are much less likely to own a driver’s license, meaning they have little to no means of transportation to make the interview. In addition, autistic people are much more susceptible to trauma and complex trauma. These factors make a support person a completely reasonable accommodation. It must be noted that this was a survey of 800 employers. Many employers are uninformed or untrained in neurodiversity or neuro-affirming practises. Disabled people are not broken. What IS broken are channels like Red Five that amplifies neuronormativity and perceives of people who demonstrate these traits as “broken”. This is inherently harmful to the disability community and people and channels like this one must be called out and held to account Asking for accommodations, be it a support person, for camera off, and everything else in between, DOES NOT make you broken. Shame on the 2,546 disgusting people who loved this post for their empowering, accomplicement, and complicity of ableist hiring practises. Sickening. Disgusting. Horrific. But sadly, not in the least bit surprising. Jamie Shields Shea Belsky Lyric Rivera Lou Chandler Silvan Ruthenberg #Autism #Autistic #ADHD #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #Education #Employment #Disability #Advocacy #Inclusion #Dei #Intersectionality #Communication #Stigma #Bias #Ableism #Culture #Accommodations #Pride #Hr #Discrimination #Systems #Accessibility #Privilege #Workplace #Research #MentalHealth

A massive congrats to our friends at Happy Smiles Training ???? ??

It is your right to self-identify.